Paint dispensing tray



June 10, 1952 P. L. HEXTER 2,599,830

PAINT DISPENSING TRAY Filed May 4, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 mwn //. 7 INVENTOR. PRU]. L. HEXTER J1me; 1952 P. 1.. HEXTER 2,599,830

PAINT DISPENSING. TRAY- Filed May 4,. 948- 2 swam-swam 2 mm [In] t W. BY I 4 VII U A TTORNE Patented June 10, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 PAINT DISPENSING TRAY Paul L. Hexter, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor toThe Arco Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporatio i A of Ohio Application May 4, 1948, Serial No. 25,029 I 1 Claim. (01. 222-403 for accomplishing this result were found to be pensing a special type of paint, which for reasons connected with its use and characteristics could not be spread by conventional methods. Rather, in order to obtain an applicator capable of making a satisfactory application of the paint, it was necessary to design a special applicating mitten which is described in my co-pending application entitled Coating Applicator and Polisher, Serial 781,661, filed October 23, 1947, now abandoned. In order to utilize this mitten efliciently the paint must be applied only to the front part of the finger'and thumb portions. Furthermore, the paint must be applied evenly to the entire surface of these portions rather than only to the outer edges of them.

Such requirements necessitated the development of some means whereby the applying surfaces of the thumb and finger portions of the mitten could be dipped into the paint whileheld in a substantially horizontal position. In addition it was found necessary to limit the depth to 3 which the mitten could be dipped in order that an inexperienced operator would be prevented from applying an excessive quantity of paint to the mitten.

Although, as stated, the circumstances connected with this new paint and its applicator provided the immediate incentive to solve the problems described, it will be recognized that the problems described are generally existent wherever, as here, painting means for amateur use are being provided. Hence, the broad problem is old and it has never been satisfactorily solved excepting to educate the amateur concerning the proper amount of paint to have on his brush.

The use of existing devices such as dishes, paint can lids and other articles answering the requirements relating to depth and area where found to be entirely unsatisfactory for several reasons.

The existing devices must be used outside the paint container. Under such circumstances any paint spilling out of them is wasted besides marring the surface on which it is spilled. Besides the mess made by the spilling, a greatdeal of waste is caused thereby. The use of the paint dispenser outside the principal paint container required the operator to utilize more operating space than is often desirable as Well as having to guard this area against paint'splashes.

Since these devices could not be operated while in the paint container it was necessary to fillthem substantially each time the mitten was dipped. This is wasteful because of the drip and frequent overrun. It also consumed a great deal of time and energy and in general created a highly unsatisfactory operating arrangement. When not in use these devices had to be stored, necessitating careful and tedious cleaning to prevent fouling the storage area and to prevent caking and gumming of the exposed paint which would quickly render the device unusable.

To overcome these dimculties and to devise a device capable of satisfactorily performing under the circumstances created by the use of a paint applying mitten, it was necessary to develop a paint dispensing tray which would fit into the paint can, not only while in use but also while in storage. Such a tray had to be capable of being filled by the same operation as that in which the mitten was dipped, and to raise the paint in the tray to a level where the paint container would not'obstruct dipping the front face of the mitten into the paint in the tray while the mitten was parallel to the surface of the paint. The tray had to be capable of separating out a small portion of paint in the can and raising it to the predetermined, unobstructed position. The design of the dispensing tray had to be sufiiciently simple in both structure and operation that its cost would be but a minor fraction of the cost of the paint and that it could be used by an unskilled operator with a minimum possibility of failure.

Further, having in mind that this dispenser is intended for amateur use, it frequently happens that after the painter has stirred the paint initially he neglects any further stirring throughout the consumption of the entire can of paint. Thus, since the pigment will gradually settle if not stirred from time to time, the paint becomes progressively thicker and eventually becomes too thick for proper application. Hence, it is desired to provide means by which a small degree of agitation will be obtained throughout by a simple dipping operation irrespective of the" amount of paint in the container. 7

Still another object of my invention is to provide a paint dispensing tray capable of automatically lifting the paint in the tray to a'predetermined position with respect to the container.

A further object of my invention is to provide a paint dispensing tray having a light, simple construction suitablefor use byan' inexperienced operator. V j

A still further object of my invention is to provide a paint'dispensing tray which-will be simple and economical to manufacture.

A further object of my invention is to provide means to agitate the paint each time the mit is dipped there into. 7 7

Other objects'and advantages of myinvention will be immediately apparenttothose acquainted with the paint-dispensing art upon reading the following specification and the accompanying drawings. j i

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my paint dispenser tray seated in operating position. in a paint container with-the side of the container broken away. e V

Figure 21is a side elevational view of my paint dispenser tray seated in storagepositionina paint container with.- the side of-the container broken away. r V

Figure 3"isa side elevationaiview of. my paint dispenser tray' in a depressed or filling position in a paint container with the side of the container broken away:

Figure dis a top view" ofT my paint dispenser tray. j e I 9 Figure 5 is a side-elevational view of: my paint dispenser tray.

Figure 6 is ahottomi view of my paint dispenser tray taken along the plane Vii-VI of Figure 5. Figure"? is-a fragmentary s'ectionai view taken along the planeVII-VII o-f'Figure 4.

At the lower outside periphery of the rim 5 a bead B is formed by rolling the edge of the metal. Walls defining an upwardly opening groove 1 may be provided between the rim 5 and the dish 4, where needed to provide sufiicient depth in the recess 9 for holding the spring firmly as hereinafter mentioned. As preferably made and as shown in the drawings, the dish 4, rim 5, head t and the walls defining the groove 9 are all integral and made from a single disc-shaped blank.

The spring 3 consists of a resilient member coiled to form ahelix having a diameter substantially'that of rim 5 butprogressively decreasing from bottom to top for purposes appearing hereinafter. The rate of such decrease will be such that the diameter of each coil above the bottommost one will be shorter than that of the one next below it by an amount equal to about twice the diameter of the stock from which the spring 3 is made, although a greater rate of such decreasein successive diameters is not'prohibited'. The upper: end 8 of the spring 3 seats intothe recess 9 within the rim 5 and is held there by the crimps H The upper end his held within the recess 9 for the greater part of the circumference of the rim 5- to provide a stable support for the tray 2. The lower end of the spring-3 is caused to make a single coil substantially in a horizon- In executing the objects and purposes of any i invention I have provided within;- an ordinary paint container a shallow tray mounted upon a coiled spring having one and bent to forma-supporting seatfor the. structure, the spring! being so selected as normally to hold the tray above the upper rim of the can.

Referring to the drawing morespecifically, the

numeral l indicates a paint dispenser having a tray 2 and a supporting spring 3.. The. tray 2 consists of a fiat circular dish 4' circumferentially surrounded by a rim Shaving the shape of: an inverted U (Figure 7). The height of the rim 5 above the surface of the dish 4 should, be small to provide" only 'a shallow depression within the tray 2. By experimentation I. have found a tal plane thus forming a base H upon which the entire paint dispensing assembly rests. H

In the construction shown, the tray 2 is tilted a few degrees from the horizontal due to the helical development of the spring 3, hoWever, this if desired may be eliminated by forming, a fiat coil at the top end of the spring similar to that used to formthe base II. It is usually preferable, however, that this be present as shown, since if used so that the finger tips part of the applicator mitten is placed over the highestpart of the traybottom, it eifectsshallowi-n-g ofthe paint in the regionwhere the applicator mitten would normally be dipped the deepest bya careless user, and thus anapplication of-paintto the mitten of nearly constant quantity-over its whole area is better effected. r r i The tray 2 and associated items, the rim-5, andhead 6 may be made from-any suitable material such as a metal oraplastic depending upon the cost and availability of-material--and-the ,relative costs of fabrication. I. have found-1 thin sheet steel to be satisfactory material for this purpose. 'The spring'3; for purposes of-maximum life and resiliency is formed froma medium grade spring 'steel although other materials may be substituted provided only that the resiliency of this member is-not thereby reduced;

Operation U The paint dispenserisplacedv in a standard shaped container -12 of paint withthe base! I of the spring 3' seated on the'bottom of the container (Figure 1). It is; of course; necessary that a paint dispenser having the correct height be selected to'suit the size of the paint container. This height is'control'led by the vertical extent of the spring 3. it is desirable that in normal, released position the bottomof the dish l be slightly above the top I3 of the paint container. After-the paint dispenser is seated within" the container, it is filled with paintby pressing-the tray 2: downwardly until the paint; within the containerfiows over the top ofthe rim 5-'andthe tray 2 filled with paint. In the processet-de- For most satisfactory operation pressing the tray 2 the spring 3 is compressed so that upon release of the pressure the tray 2 is automatically forced upwardly to its normal position.

By this simple operation the paint is lifted out of the container, where it was inaccessible to the type of applicator represented by my mitten to a position where the mitten may conveniently have its entire applicating surface, the face or underside of the entire fingers portion, rather than just its outer edge, dipped into the paint. At the same time the shallow construction of the tray prevents the face of the mitten being dipped to an excessive depth, thus effectively preventing a flooding of the applicating surface.

The coil spring construction permits the tray 2 to be depressed to a greater depth in the container as the paint is used up. Thus, the tray can repeatedly be filled with paint until the paint level in the container is depleted to a depth equal to the height of the rim 5 plus a single thickness of the spring. This is possible due to the progressively decreasing diameter of the individual turns of the helix from bottom to top permitting the coils of the spring to rest one inside the other when the spring is fully depressed. Thus the tray reaches a point a minimum distance from the bottom of the container and a maximum of paint is made available to the dispenser.

If it is desired to leave the dispensing tray in the paint container for any length of time, such as overnight or longer, the lid of the container is simply pushed downwardly into place in the normal manner forcing the tray into the can, thus automatically storing it (Figure 2). In a similar manner the dispensingtray may be placed in a full container of paint at the factory before sealing and the device will thereby be provided ready for use upon the purchaser's opening the container. The simplicity of its construction and the attendant economy in manufacture permit such a method of distribution.

By this arrangement and construction there is provided a convenient paint dispenser especially adapted to permit full and efficient use of a mitten type applicator, particularly of the type described in my co-pending application mentioned above. Although the drawings and description of my paint dispensing tray herein given apply to one particular preferred embodiment of the invention, it is not my intention, im-

plied or otherwise, to eliminate other variations or modifications which do not depart from the scope of the invention unless specifically stated to the contrary in the hereinafter appended claim.

I claim:

In a paint dispensing tray adapted to be received within a paint container having an opening at its upper end and a quantity of paint therein, the combination comprising: a tray having a short upstanding peripheral rim shaped in the form of an inverted U to provide a downwardly opening recess within said rim, and a rolled-bead forming the circumferential edge of said rim; a resilient support member substantially helically coiled on a diameter approximately equal to, but no greater than, that of said tray and the diameter of the coils of said support member progressively decreasing from bottom to top an amount between successive coils approximately equal to at least twice the diameter of the stock from which said support is made, said support having an upper and a lower end; said upper end of said support member being received into said recess and retained therein by at least one crimp; the last coil of said lower end of said support member formed in a flat horizontal plane for providing a base for said support member; said tray being normally above the opening in said paint container and being depressible against said resilient member to a position below the surface of said paint through a major part of the possible range of depths of said paint within said container.

PAUL L. HEXTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 531,398 Strohecker et al. Dec. 25, 1894 736,729 Howard Aug. 18, 1903 738,324 Hey Sept. 8, 1903 943,825 Hardinge Dec. 21, 1909 1,158,676 Furber Nov. 2, 1915 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 650,374 France Sept. 18, 1928 

